March's First Cards

It may be March, we may even be getting closer to Spring, but it's still no warmer here. It'll still freeze your you-know-whats off. Anyway since weather is a federal matter and the feds are always caught up with other things, we take what we get when we live where we do. Postcards, of course I have postcards. Let's start with a helicopter card. I get a lot of plane cards but not many choppers. This one is a United States Army UH-1 Huey. As an armed fighter, troop carrier, medevac aircraft and training aircraft , the versatile Huey supports a wide variety of Army missions. With more than 9,000 produced from the 1950s to the present, the Huey is flown today by about 40 countries. The Huey began arriving in Vietnam in 1963. Before the end of the conflict, more than 5,000 of these versatile aircraft were introduced into Southeast Asia.

This card arrived with a number of Transportation themed stamps. First is the 5 cent 1948 covered wagon of the Swedish Pioneer Centennial issue.The other 4 are Railway stamps. The 2 on the right were issued in 1987 and the lower 2 in 1999.

Today's second card comes from Potsdam, Germany.  It gives us a look at Potsdamer Platz or Potsdam Square. The square  is an important public square and traffic intersection in the centre of Berlin, Germany, lying about 1 km (1,100 yd) south of the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag . It is named after the city of Potsdam  some 25 km (16 mi) to the south west, and marks the point where the old road from Potsdam passed through the city wall of Berlin at the Potsdam Gate.

Dagmar used the 2013 stamp commemorating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Ludwig Leichhardt. He was the young  Prussian explorer who went missing in the Australian desert  in 1848 , never to be seen again.

 

Guadeloupe is next. The card was posted at Les Abymes,  the most populated  commune in the French overseas region and department of Guadeloupe, in the Lesser Antilles.  It is located on the west side of the island of Grande-Terre. Pointe-a-Pitre International Airport  is located in Les Abymes. The airline Air Caraibes has its headquarters in Les Abymes. It's Air Caraibes aircraft we see here on this card, on the ramp at Orly Airport in 2004. The aircraft in the foreground is Air Caraibes' Airbus A330 with the registration of F-OPTP . Back in 1998 the aircraft belonged to Swissair as HB-IQB and now since 2010 belongs to the French Air Force as F-RARF. Aircraft do tend to get around. Air Caraïbes is a french airline and is the regional airline of the French Caribbean which comprises two overseas departments of France: Guadeloupe and Martinique. The airline is headquartered in Les Abymes in Guadeloupe.

 

Jean Pierre used a nice topical Bat stamp from 2103. It was also available as 1 of 4 different Bat stamps in a beautiful souvenir sheet . The other stamp a  20 gram letter rate stamp. 

The next card is from Russia and should be of interest to the Railroad / Train card collectors out there. Yes, I know, the same Russia that's in the news these past few days. 

Elena used 2 military  aircraft stamps from 2005. They are from a set of 5. Hopefully no Russian military aircraft will be used anytime soon against Ukraine. 

An 1816 view of Helsinki, Finland is front and center on this next card. Not a lot going on back then. 

Leyla used a 2013 stamp from a set of 3 highlighting different Fruits. 

 

Here's another card from Finland. I don't think this is Forrest Gump's momma but she does seem to be enjoying her box of chocolates.We all remember when Forrest said "My momma always said Life  was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get . "

 

Riina used a 2012 Spring Blossoms stamp from a set of 6. 

I do believe that makes 6 cards for today, my usual number, so I think I'll call it a day. Thanks go out to Riina, Leyla, Elena, Jean Pierre, Dagmar and the sender of the Huey card. I can't quite make out the name. 
Take care, be back again soon.